Grass

Grass

by Carl Sandburg

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

i am the grass.
Let me work.

Summary of Grass

  • Popularity of “Grass”: Published soon after WWI ended, this great poem, which appeared in 1918, set the stage for anti-war poetry at that time. Carl Sandburg, the poet, has taken WWI and its barbarism head-on through this poem, equating humanity with the obliteration of vegetation and replacement with grass. The pacifism and indirect anti-war stance have won great popularity for the poem.
  • “Grass” As a Representative of Pacifism in Post-War Situation: The poet, who happens to be the speaker, states that great battlegrounds now have piles of bodies in them. However, the grass, as personified as a human being, seeks permission to shovel the dead bodies and cover them all. The same goes for other battlefields. First, the grass, in the first person, mentions Austerlitz and Waterloo, then it goes on to mention Gettysburg, Ypres, and Verdun to emphasize her argument of disposing of the dead bodies by piling them high and covering them. The grass then presents her case saying that after a couple of years or a decade, when some conductor of a bus would pass by, he would respond to an inquiring passenger in the same way, and the grass would respond that “I am the grass” and that she should be permitted to cover this. Although, on a deeper level, it has a multiplicity of meanings, it still shows its anti-war stance by the end.
  • Major Themes in “Grass”: Death, memory, and pacifism are the major themes of this poem. Although the poet has presented the grass as a personification, it presents the situation of the battlefields full of dead bodies of the soldiers stating that she should be allowed to cover their dead bodies. This shows the bleak destruction of humanity and the ensuing memory. It also shows how death rules the roost when the war ends, and the great battlefields become grounds for dead bodies.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Grass

Carl Sandburg used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices are as follows.

  1. Anaphora: It means the occurrence of a phrase of a word in successive sentences or clauses, such as “And pile them…”
  2. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo” and the sound of /a/ in “Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor.”
  3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ in “Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor” and the sound of /w/ in “Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor.”
  4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.

  1. Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The latent irony in the poem lies in the presentation of the grass as a persona.
  2. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Carl Sandburg has used imagery in this poem, such as “And pile them high at Gettysburg”, and “Shovel them under and let me work.”
  3. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as the use of piles, bodies, and covers for destruction.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Grass

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

  1. Free Verse: It means the poet has no fixed rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. This poem is a free verse poem.
  2. Repetition: The poem shows the use of repetitions at several places, such as “And pile them…” and “I am the grass.”
  3. Rhetorical Question: It means to pose questions not intended to get an answer but to emphasize a point. The poem shows the use of rhetorical questions such as “What place is this?” or “Where are we know?”

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to highlight the ecology or love for the environment.

 Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

 

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